Choosing a recruiter
What does a recruitment agency actually do?
The visible part is the shortlist. The work behind it is sourcing and screening — across 46 vacancies we filled, 1,542 candidates were screened to produce 51 hires, and only 235 of them were ever shown to a client. A good agency also writes and places the advert, headhunts people who are not applying, runs first interviews, manages scheduling and feedback, and handles the offer. What you are buying is the 1,300 conversations you never see.
What actually happens
- Take the brief properly. Salary, the two or three things that genuinely disqualify someone, shift pattern, site, who signs off. Most failed searches are failed briefs.
- Write and place the advert. Using the title the market searches for, not the internal one.
- Headhunt. The strongest candidate for most roles is employed and not looking, so they will never see the advert.
- Screen. The bulk of the work and the part nobody sees.
- Interview. A proper conversation before anyone reaches you.
- Present a shortlist, then manage scheduling, feedback and the offer.
The proportions, from our own filled roles
| Stage | Candidates | What the client sees |
|---|---|---|
| Sourced and screened | 1,542 | no |
| Internal interview | 560 | no |
| Presented to the client | 235 | yes |
| Client interview | 143 | yes |
| Hired | 51 | yes |
85% of the work happens before anything reaches you. That is the honest description of what a fee buys, and it is also why a cheap advert and a managed search are not comparable products.
What a good one does that a bad one does not
- Says no to a role it cannot fill. An agency that takes every brief is not screening its own work.
- Tells you the salary is wrong before the search rather than after.
- Presents fewer people. A shortlist of twelve means nobody read them.
- Gives you the failures. Our slowest filled role took 169 days and it is published with the fast ones.
What it does not do
It does not make an unfillable role fillable, and it does not compensate for slow feedback. Candidates in demand read a four-day silence as a no, and no recruiter can undo that on your behalf.
Sources
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